Game



SePf- 22, 1942- E. v. P. ALBosTA 2,296,623

GAME

Filed May 8, 1940 Il.|I n,.

N I( Inventor y@m,

yh/s attorney. l

Patented Sept. 22, 1942 UNITE-D STATES- PAT oFF-ICE 2,296,623 A. j..

GAME- Eawara v. P. Albosta, Philadelnhia, Pa. Application May 8, v194:0, Serial No. l333,9081

1 claim..

This invention relates to games, particularly to that class thereof played by participantssitting around a table.

Objects of my invention include the provision of a game wherein a Vgame board, together with accompanying charts and player pieces are used,

having the player pieces so shaped that they can be matched up in pairs along one edge, like a'jigsaw cut edge, and having the game board and accompanying charts each marked off into lblock spaces, wherein the game board has a plurality of rows of such spaces'and each chart hasy twoV rows of such spaces. The game can beplayed in turn by the players transferring the pieces from space to space and matching them up to occupy certain spaces, in accordance with a set of rules;

looking toward the full occupation, of a row, ofv block spaces on `the game board by matched pairs of player pieces, as a winning turn in the game.

A further object is to have each-player pro-4 each the same number of block spaces as there-f are numbered spaces in each of the charts:

A further object is to include the use of a die to increase interest in the game, by adding another element of chance, and inasmuch as a 'die is usually a cube in formation, having six sides and each side a number indicated 'by the number of dots thereon, I desire when using a die to have each row of numbered block spaces, on each of the charts, contain six of such numbered'spaces,

so while, in that case there would b'e only accom-4 modation for six player pieces on the numbered'` l spaces of each of the charts, there would lbe accommodation for six times the number ofrows of block spaces, on the game board. If the4 game M board is designed for the use of four players it would then have four columns of spaces and would have twenty-four block spaces in all.

In connection with the player'pieces, which are to be provided in matchable pairs, I desire to have each pair of matchable pieces, match along some line which maybe a straight line, a curved line, or an irregularv line like a jig-saw cut, matchablej line.

With these and other objects which will hereinafter appear, my game invention includes a game board, charts, player pieces, dice, together with!` a set of rules for playing .the game. /The game board, charts, player piecesand 'dice are A273-435,)A trated in the drawing, and are hereinafter dea scribed,.a method of playing the,V game therewith.

is describedand explained in kaccordance with a sample set of"rules,and what I` claim'is set forth.

`Inthedrawingzf' Figure' 1 shows a plan of the game board,l with marked-'off rows of block,l spaces, having certain player pieces restingupon some of the`block spaces. v

(Figures 2, v-r3; 4 and' 5 'il1ustrate--charts, each having two;rows of block, spaces,.with 'one row of spaces numbered.

Figures 6 and 7 showvin perspective view, matched pairs Lof player lpieces,` where each `matched up A`pair'jof 1 pieces', has' a peripherial .contour of a squarci ligurev hows in'perspective vievv,al Dar'of matchedzup player pieces tour.v

4' 'Figure 9 'shows inperspectivev-iema matched?. up pair of player vpieces havingy a diierentcontour than .anyf of the other matched-up pairs of pieces.

Figurellis a perspective-.view of a' cubical die used in connection. with the game.

board, adapted 'frthe use of four players 'at one time, which may bedesignated as player"` A, player B, player `C andlplayer D.1'Game Vboard ,|51is markedoff into"four..rowsof block...spaces I6,

which rows are marked AUB', C and D .for use, respectively, or the individuals-as:players A,;.B,

C and D.. v

The charts I'I, shown in the .collection of figures -V groupedy about the gamefboard I5, are lettered A2,- 132, C2, and D2, for the use of individual players A, B,Cand-'D, frespectivelyr-i. Each chart I,'Ihas= tworows of block spaces :I 6,eac;h preferably simi-` space l, space space f Thev individual player Ipieces I 8, are matchablein pairsan'cl when-so matched, together as the pair I9, on the game-'board- 4Igare shownto have" the outline orcontour ofa square; This outline may be-a crcle, as iri 1"igure''8,Y or-likewhatis shown in Figure' 9, Vor any other shape `of outlineyy while the block spacesi I6, of the Chartsmaybe illussquares as shown in the figures, or they may be having :a circular, .con- Y In'the' figures', 1I'5,"'o`f the Figure 1, is `the game` circles, rectangles or have any other desired outline.

The matching line for a pair of player pieces may be a straight line, as shown on the game board I5, at 20, on the matched-up pair 2|; or a rcurve as shown at 22, on the matched pair 23; or for the pair 24, the matching line may be an irregular line 25, like a jig-saw matching line, of a jig-saw puzzle, except here I match up only two pieces, and no piece, of a matched-up pair of player pieces is made to match any other piece besides the one piece it is made to match. There are in all, an even number of player pieces and half that number of pieces will each have some piece of the other half number of pieces to be its matching mate, to match up with. For four players there are 48 individual player pieces used. For three players 36 individual player Pieces areused, and for two players, 24 individual player pieces are used, while solitaire can be played by one player using all 48 pieces, as is explained below.

Having described the game board, the charts and player pieces in detail, I will now explain how the game may be played in accordance with certain successive steps, to be taken in turn, by the players, where the successive steps indicated, are included in one set of rules. After showing how the game is played in accordance with this one set of rules, I will show how the game, with the game board, the charts, the player pieces, with or without the use of the die, may be played in a diierent way.

But first let us consider that there are four players, A, B, C and D, participating in the game,

who will use the game board and charts, player -pieces and die. Let us say that now A' on the game board I5, is player As row, row B is player Bs row; row C' is player Cs row and row D' is player Ds row. Also let chart A2 be assigned to player A; chart B2 assigned to player B; chart C2 assigned to player C; and chart D2 assigned to player D. Next all forty-eight of the individual player pieces numbered I8, are mixed up and dealt twelve to each player, who places hali:` this number upon the numbered chart block spaces, of his chart and the other half upon his assigned row of the six block spaces on'the game board, having but one player piece on each numbered block space, although having no piece to begin with, on the unnumbered spaces f his own chart. Twenty-four individual player pieces will then be on the game board and six player pieces will be on the numbered spaces of each of the four smaller, or companion charts, of the respective players.

With this arrangement of charts and player pieces, the players begin to play. Player A picks up the player piece resting on block space number 1, of his row A', of the game board I5, and tries to match it up along the matching line of some one of the six individual player pieces, resting on his own chart A2. If he succeeds in finding a piece to match up with, he then puts this pair of matched pieces on block space 1, of his row A', of the game board I5. This is the same space from which he picked up the piece to be matched with some one of the pieces on his chart A2. If he does not succeed in getting a match for the piece he took from space 1, of column A', of game board I5, he puts this piece on the unnumbered space below numbered space 1, of his chart A2. He has now completed his rst turn in the game, whether he succeeds or not in matching up the pieces.

Next, it is player Bs turn. Player B sits to the right of player A. Player B starts by picking up the player piece resting on block space number 1, of his row B', on the game board I5. He then tries to match this piece with some one of the player pieces resting on his chart B2, in the same way that player A did. If player B succeeds in matching up the piece he takes from the game board, with some one of the six pieces on his chart B2, he puts the pair of matched pieces on block space number 1, of his B', on the game board I5. If no match is made then he places the piece he took from the game board, on the unnumbered space below numbered space l, of his chart B2, when he has completed his first turn in the game. Players C and D do likewise in playing their turns in succession. All the player piecesrthat rested, to begin with, upon the block spaces number 1, in all the rows A', B', C and D', of the game board I5, have thus far been Vplayed with, on the first turn around, for al1 the players. Y

Next, player A starts his second turn around, by picking up the player piece resting upon block space 2, of his row A', of the game board I5, and plays with it in trying to make a match etc., the same as he did with the player pieces that first rested on block space 1, of his row A of the main chart, and if he makes a match, he places the matched pair back on the rst open space or lowest numbered space in his own co1- umn A' on the game board. If no match is made, he places the piece on the blank space below numbered space 2, of his chart A2. Players B, C and D do likewise on their second turn around.

The same plan of trying to match up pieces and putting matched pieces on the 'various rows 0f the game board I5 is continued in'furth'erV successive turns around, by the players, until all the single pieces, originally placed on the game board, have been removed and played with.

Then with no pieces left to be picked oil the game board, the one whose turn is next, after the last of the game board pieces has Ibeen taken olf, gets his next piece from the chart, of the player to his left. He'makes his selection lby rolling the die. number of dots occurring on its top face is the number of the space, on the chart, or' the player to his left, from Ywhich he picks the individual piece, and tries to match this piece up on some one of all the pieces he has on both the numbered and unnumbered spaces, of his own chart. If he makes a match, then he places the matched-up pair on the game board I5, in his own row thereon. If no match is made, then the piece is placed upon an unnumbered blank space Y of his own chart. At any time, between turns, he moves the pieces on the unnumbered row, of spaces, to iill consecutively, spaces under thersuccessively numbered spaces, starting at l, and after doing this, if he iinds a vacant space left in the row, of numbered spaces, on his own chart, he lls itwith a piece resting on that space below numbered space l. After all the unnumbered spaces have been emptied, and he has an unmatched piece to place on his chart, after using the die, he puts this piece in the lowest numbered empty space, of his own chart.

The other players take their turns in succession rolling the die, like player A did, to know from which numbered space, of the chart of the player to his left, he is to pick a player piece to try to match onany one of all `the player pieces of the As the die comes to rest, that numbered and unnumbered spaces on his own chart. In matching the piece or not, he does the same as the player did to his left. If it happens, that when using the die, a space number is indicated Which is empty on the companion chart, to the active players left, he loses that turn, and the next player to his right, becomes active with the die in playing his turn. The one who lls his column first, on the game board, with matched-up pieces, wins.

If there are only three players for a game, then only three, of the four rows, on the game board, are used, and only three, of the four charts, are used, care being taken to select three charts that correspond in lettered order respectively, with correspondingly lettered columns, of the game board,

As to the number of player pieces to be used, for three players, it is first necessary to match up 18 pairs instead of 24 pairs, discarding the remaining, of the 48 individual pieces, thus we take 36 matchable pieces to play with, and mix them up and deal 18 of these pieces, placing one on each block space, of the three selected rows, of the game board. We then can put the remaining 18 individual pieces on the three charts, on the numbered spaces, having' one on each numbered space; there being 18 of such spaces in all.

The three players individually play as did each of the four individual players, using the columns of spaces on the game board, and as the game progresses, each uses the dice, when the time comes to use it, in selecting pieces to match with, as above explained for the four players.

Where there are only two players to a game, only two of the player rows on the game board i5, and twelve pairs of matched pieces are selected to begin with, or 24 pieces in all. Of these, six individual pieces will be placed on each of the numbered spaces, of each of the two charts, then the game is played as described for players A and B, of the four players, leaving out players C and D,

and proceeding in the same way and using two instead o four columns, of the game board.

One player can play by himself in one of two ways. He can imagine other players playing and take their turns around, or he can play by noticing the time it takes to match up all the pieces and see if he shortens the time each time he completes matching up all the pieces, in successive tries.

While I have described how to play the game with four players or less, the game board can be made with more than four columns, of six block spaces each, then the game can be played with as many players as there are rows provided on the game board, and there will be needed as many individual charts, as there are rows of spaces on the game board, or as many as there are players. Each chart has a column of six numbered spaces, and has an adjoining row of six unnumbered spaces, and there will be required six pairs of matched pieces for each player, or 12 single matching pieces.

Inasmuch as the game can be played with the same kinds of game boards, charts and matchable player pieces, by some other method of playing, or set of rules, I wish to include all modifications of rules, game boards, charts and matchable player pieces, which come within the spirit of my invention and the scope of the following claim.

I claim:

In a game of the class described, player equipment comprising a game board, a plurality of charts and player pieces, matchable as to shape, in pairs, said game board having a set of rows o spaces, having the same given number of spaces in each of said game board rows, and said charts each having two rows of spaces, side by side, with the same number of spaces in each row as there are in each of the said rows of spaces on said game board.

EDWARD V. P. ALBOSTA. 

